Psalm 51 (Day 30): A Pure Heart

Precious Counselor and wise Teacher, 

I thank You for the gift of Your wisdom. 

Should Jesus come fetch His bride today 

and find me faithful and true, 

You, O sweet Spirit of the living God, 

would deserve all the glory for such an incredible feat. 

Remind me daily of the righteousness of Christ

imputed to my unworthy self.

Help me to continue to wait for Christ's return 

in gladness and not in fear, 

in grateful obedience and not in joyless duty, 

in purity and not in self-indulgence. 

Open my heart and eyes, 

and teach me from the Word this morning 

and for the rest of my life. 

In Jesus' name, I pray. 

Amen!

I am waiting.
I have been waiting.
I will continue to be waiting.

On this thirtieth morning of my 50 days of waiting for Pentecost Sunday, I am struck anew by the gracious opportunity the Lord Jesus offers me to learn from His Word in every circumstance as I wait for His glorious return. During this season, I have been studying Psalm 51 -- a poem of repentance written by King David after the prophet Nathan confronted him regarding his adultery with Bathsheba and his arranged murder of Uriah the Hittite. 

In the first nine verses of this beloved and well-known passage, David openly repents of his sin and humbly pleads for merciful cleansing to God:

"Have mercy on me, O God,

according to Your unfailing love;

according to Your great compassion

blot out my transgressions.

Wash away all my iniquity

and cleanse me from my sin.

For I know my transgressions

and my sin is always before me.

Against You, You only have I sinned

and done what is evil in Your sight,

so that You are proved right when You speak

and justified when You judge.

Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.

Surely You desire truth in the inner parts,

You teach me wisdom in the inmost place.
Cleanse me with hyssop and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones You have crushed rejoice.
Hide Your face from my sins
and blot out all my iniquity."
Psalm 51:1-9

I continue to be blown away by the power of God as I spend more and more time pondering these precious verses. Indeed, the nuggets of wisdom imparted from the Holy Spirit are more precious than gold and sweeter than honey. Glory to the name of the Lord!

Today, in the middle of this penitent psalm, we find David crying out in verse 10,

"Create in me a pure heart,

O God,

and renew a right spirit within me."

I have been looking at this particular verse for the past three days. So far, I have been led to pray through the grace inherent in this verse. I have also gleaned the importance of revering and acknowledging God in all circumstances.

Today, the Holy Spirit reveals yet a new concept to me. My mind is open to see that King David recognized how impossible it would be for him to remain steadfast in his commitment to revere God's holy name unless God removed his rebellious heart and replaced it with a brand new heart. Without the Lord's hand, there can be no transformation from an unclean heart to a clean heart.

The above concept is most accurately depicted by a group of religious leaders living around the time Jesus was teaching on earth; they called themselves Pharisees. Those people thought they could achieve holiness in their own power and through their own efforts. In response, Jesus bluntly indicted the Pharisees for seeking to follow the Law with the devious aim of appearing more righteous than others. He called out their hypocrisy, saying,

"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees,

you hypocrites!

You clean the outside of the cup and dish,

but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.

Blind Pharisee!

First clean the inside of the cup and dish,

and then the outside also will be clean."

Matthew 23:25-26, NIV

The word "inside" points to the necessity of surrendering our hearts to the Lord and resting solely on the righteousness of Christ. The word "outside" reveals our tendency to focus primarily on what the eye sees, regardless of the condition of the heart.

Through His teaching, Jesus clearly showed the Pharisees that their self-help mentality was doomed to fail. By focusing on minor details of the Law, the Pharisees paid no mind to the matter that was close to God's heart -- that is, the command for people to genuinely love God and their neighbors.

My heart is gripped with conviction when I think of the uncleanness of my own heart. It is plain to me how I have shown myself unworthy of God's special attention time and time again. In fact, there is not a moment in my life when I am deserving of His love. I think of times when I fail to love my fellow man and when my "serving God" is mere religious activity. I think of times when I am tempted to fool myself into believing that my "good works" (missions, virtues, prayers, and the like) outweigh my offenses against the Father. I think of seasons of spiritual drought, sensual indulgence, vain conceit, rash behavior, and faithless speech. I also think of days when I take pride in what others see rather than exude humility and gratitude in light of what God sees in my heart.

Yet, the Father's love for me is sure and irrevocable. He forever remains a faithful, righteous, just, compassionate, and fierce Searcher of human hearts. He promises His people in Hosea 2:19-20,

"I will betroth you to me forever;

I will betroth you in righteousness and justice,

in love and compassion.

I will betroth you in faithfulness,

and you will acknowledge the Lord."

Truly, it is the Lord who can win our hearts.
Indeed, it is the Lord who can purify our unclean hearts.
By His grace, we can acknowledge Him as Lord and King -- our only wise God!